


Evolving

by IrxnStrxnge



Series: IronStrange Week 2019 [2]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And He Won't Pass Up The Chance To Make Him Happy, Butterflies, Fluff, Insecurity, IronStrange Week 2019, M/M, Magic, Stephen Just Loves Him So Much, Tony Being A Softie, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 19:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18901456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrxnStrxnge/pseuds/IrxnStrxnge
Summary: IronStrange Week 2019 | Prompt Two: ButterfliesTony was fascinated with butterflies, Stephen had always known that.Only the reason for it had been unclear to him - until now.





	Evolving

He had noticed it back then. Yes, it had been by pure accident but he had noticed. His eyes had shifted from Thanos for only a heartbeat, scanning the battle in a desperate attempt to make sure everyone was still okay, that everything was still going according to plan.

And in that heartbeat, his gaze had managed to land on Tony. The genius had been helping  Peter back to his feet all the while apparently watching the fight between him and Thanos. Stephen had been able to see his reaction only due to to the fact that he had taken his helmet off.  
  
They had been a good distance away from him, making the fact that he had been able to see the way Tony’s face changed even more impressive. The way his eyes had grown big, the way his mouth had opened slightly, the way he had stopped to pull Peter up midway, leaving him in a very awkward position, clinging to his mentor’s armour - and it was only when he had looked back towards his enemy that he had realised. 

The butterflies.

He had turned the mad titan’s black hole into a bunch of butterflies. And Tony had seemed to be absolutely fascinated by them. At that time, Stephen hadn’t been sure if his reaction had been caused by the creatures or simply by the fact that he had just managed to stop a black hole from swallowing him whole.

But his thought process had been cut short then.

Now, however…

“Stephen, can I ask you something?”

The sorcerer lifted his head, eyes darting to the man standing in front of him. Tony was holding his arms behind his back and rocking back and forth on his heels. It reminded him of a very flustered schoolboy about to hold a presentation in front of the class.

Stephen slowly closed his book and put it down on the little table beside him. “Of course. What is it?” He sat and watched patiently as Tony pulled a face akin to a grimace. He knew those movements - a clear sign of his nervousness.  
  
He sighed inwardly, not wanting to unsettle him and sure that Tony would get it out eventually. And he did.

“Do you remember on- uhm.” Well, he was getting there. Stephen tapped his fingers against the couch and smiled up at him which resulted in Tony giving him a very short tug of his lips. “Sorry, I am rambling a bit. I apologize. My head is going-”  
  
“It’s okay, Tony. You know I don’t mind.” Stephen knew that if he didn’t stop him there, the genius would just end up talking himself down. Hell would freeze over before he let that happen. “Remember what I told you. It’s all fine.”   
  
“Right, don’t insult yourself. Got it.” He nodded to himself and Stephen’s heart melted. It was such a small gesture but somehow it managed to evoke the biggest feelings inside his chest. That was just what the man did to him. “I was just wondering about that time on- on Titan. You remember?”

He raised an eyebrow. “That time we fought Thanos? Vaguely, yeah.”

“Yeah, that. Sorry, of course, you remember-”  
  
“Tony.”

“Sorry!” He scratched the back of neck before continuing. “Well, there was that moment when you fought Thanos one-on-one.” He stopped but managed to catch himself before he asked again if Stephen remembered.  
  
“Yes.”, the sorcerer answered, urging him on.   
  
“Do you - you did this thing when he threw a black hole at you. You know…” His eyes were big and shining, watching him intensely. Stephen smirked back at him.   
  
“I turned it into butterflies.”   
  
“Yes, that!” He slammed his mouth shut but Stephen had heard his excitement. Truth be told, he didn’t get why Tony tried to play it down. It was more than just adorable. “How did you do that?”

He couldn’t remember Tony asking him about The Mystic Arts even once and it hadn’t been for a lack of trying on Stephen’s part. There had been numerous times where he had tried to explain something to him but usually, the genius would just wave him off and tell him that he wouldn’t understand it anyway.

This was new.  
  
Well, he would never turn down an opportunity to tell him about the magical world surrounding them. “It’s called The Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth.” Tony made a face, brows furrowing and nose scrunching up. He slowly repeated the words to himself.

“The Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth.” His head did the little shake that Stephen was only used to seeing when the genius was hunched over his work table and trying his best to figure out some technical problem. “Rolls right off your tongue, doesn’t it?”

“That’s the usual deal with spells, Tony.”, he softly told him and received a little nod in return. “Hoggoth is an old and powerful being and part of the Vishanti. I have the ability to call upon him.”

This specific spell had taken him quite some time to learn. Controlling this much power had required a great deal of concentration and strength but was absolutely worth it once he saw the result for the first time.

“Vishanti?”, Tony quietly asked, clearly lost. Stephen’s lip twitched but he stopped himself from making a face. He was sure that he had mentioned it to Tony in the past. Since he never really listened though it wasn’t a surprise that he couldn’t remember.

“Forget it. Another time.”   
  
“Ah. So, can you do this all the time? Like-” His eyes shifted to the book Stephen had been reading a few minutes ago and pointed at that. “Could you turn that into butterflies?” There was hope in his voice, it was distant but he could clearly hear it.   
  
Usually, when being asked for something like that he would politely decline. He didn’t like using magic when it wasn’t necessarily required of him. The potential consequences were still not completely clear to him so he avoided it as much as he could.   
  
But wíth Tony staring at him like that… how bad would it be for him to show off a little? Yes, it was an exhausting act… but how could he refuse?   
  
“Hold on.”, he mumbled quietly before tensing his arms and carefully performing the correct hand movement. He felt the magic course through his veins and heating his body. Stephen felt the warmth starting inside his stomach and spreading out until it reached his arms. It resided there for a heartbeat before leaving through his fingers.   
  
The sorcerer moved his arms, aiming at the book. It really hadn’t been that interesting of a read anyway.   
  
There was a bright flash of orange light and a strong gust of wind. He lowered his hands as his eyes darted back to Tony. He was staring at the table and the many butterflies that were resting there. Awe was written across his face.   
  
His feet took him a step forward and then another one until he was right in front of them. Stephen watched the exchange in silence, memorized by it. Tony’s hand reached out and the little creatures took off, trapping him in a cloud of them. The genius spun around on his heels, a giant smile plastered on his face.   
  
The butterflies were deep blue, reminding Stephen of the ocean during a storm, especially with the way their wings were flapping just now. It was hard to concentrate on them, however, when they were surrounding Tony.   
  
He was just as beautiful. Even more, actually.

  
Slowly, the horde of creatures thinned out, all of them flying to different places in the room. Stephen bit the inside of his cheeks. He’d forgotten that he somehow had to get them outside at some point, too caught up in his thoughts about the man currently looking like a happy child.

He would take care of them later.

Tony was beaming as he watched the last of them flying out of the room and their sight. Stephen observed him, a question bubbling up inside.   
  
“Thank you.” The quiet words were almost lost to his ear. Almost.

“You’re welcome.” His eyes focused on the other man. “Can I ask you something?”  
  
The genius turned back to him. “Of course.”   
  
“What is your fascination with butterflies? I saw your reaction when I did it the first time.” He clasped his shaking hands together. Thinking about that time when Thanos beat the shit out of him wasn’t a very delightful thing to do. “You were absolutely stunned.”   
  
Tony stared at him in surprise before his expression turned sheepish. “You saw that?”, he asked quietly, his cheeks gaining a little colour to them. He was such a handsome man, especially while blushing.

“I did.”, he confirmed.   
  
“Okay, here’s the thing.” Tony moved forward and sat down on the couch next to him. “Promise not to make fun of me?” Stephen smirked and gave a nonchalant shrug to which the other man answered by stabbing him in the side with his finger. “Hey!”

“Sorry. You have my word.”  
  
“I _have your word._ Good to hear, my Lord.” Stephen sighed and shook his head.   
  
“So, are you going to tell me?”, he asked. Tony nodded and started talking.

“To be honest, I am not as much fascinated by them per se as I am by their concept.” That actually surprised him. Stephen hadn’t expected an answer like that and he watched him carefully as he continued. “You know, starting out as a caterpillar and then growing and evolving until they emerge out of their cocoon as this majestic creature.”   
  
There were so many things he wanted to say but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Not when Tony’s eyes grew distant, his gaze focusing on something that wasn’t there to see for anyone but him. Maybe it was better to just listen.   
  
“I always admired that. Not that there's anything wrong with caterpillars.” He chuckled. Leave it to Tony to try not to offend an insect. “But they are bound to the ground, probably thinking that they will have to stay there for the rest of their lives.”

Stephen’s eyes narrowed while he turned himself around to better face Tony. The genius didn’t even notice, just kept on explaining.   
  
“But that’s the fascinating thing about life, isn’t it? So often, you don’t know what lies in your future and then one day you are just hit with it - with this chance to actually enjoy your life. A chance to fly and appreciate the beauty of this world from above.”   
  
The soft smile that broke out on Tony’s face was almost enough to take his breath away. It wasn’t an entirely happy smile, he could see the light shadow that was cast over his face.

“A chance to make things right, to redeem itself for wasting so much time on the ground being blind.”   
  
There it was.   
  
Stephen’s hand reached out to him, almost on its own accord and touched Tony’s arm. That caused him to slightly shake his head and regain his focus. The genius’ head turned and their eyes met.   
  
...and he flinched back.

“Listening to it out loud though. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a stupid reason.” Stephen growled at that, successful in shutting him up and the nonsense that came out of his mouth. Sometimes he wondered how such a smart person, one of the smartest persons in the world, could be so dense in moments like this.  

He saw Tony lean away from him and immediately regretted his outburst. “Why do you keep saying things like that, Tony?”, he asked, voice soft and calm. A questioning look crossed the genius’ face and Stephen’s hand tightened on his arm. “You need to stop with these little jabs at yourself.”  
  
They weren’t together for that long so maybe there was a specific time into the relationship where Tony dialled back on those comments. It wouldn’t stop the sorcerer from trying his best to end that as soon as possible though.

His hazel brown eyes fluttered shut for a second. “I am just joking.” It didn’t sound sincere, it didn’t even sound like he, himself, was buying it. Stephen wasn’t surprised.

“Is that so?”, he mused, successful in showing Tony that he was seeing right through his poor excuse.   
  
“Okay, no. I promise I’ll stop.” Stephen raised his eyebrows. “I’ll _try_ my best to lessen it.”   
  
“Sounds more reasonable, wouldn’t you say?” It was important for Tony to set himself reachable goals to achieve. He gave Stephen a quick and a shaky smile. “I am happy that you like them so much.”, he told him then. “And your reason for it is equally beautiful.”   
  
Tony stared at him in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected that. “You think so?” He fiddled with his hands, fingers twitching and reminding him of his own broken ones. “I thought you’d make fun of me.”

Stephen lightly shook his head. “I’d never.” He hoped that the genius could see how serious he was.  
  
The time where Tony trusted him really couldn’t come soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Tony is a softie and everyone who dares to hurt him will feel Stephen's wrath.


End file.
